Business leaders in west Wales are to get the chance to question senior figures in the rail industry.

Bosses from the train operators Prism, who earlier this month launched a bid to run a Wales-wide rail network, will be setting out their plans for improvements to the railways on Friday.

The train operators have submitted their ambitious proposals to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority .

They include two companies with existing Welsh franchises - and one which runs no services in Wales.

Prism Rail operates the Wales and West and Cardiff Railway companies.

If successful its plans could create 500 new jobs and would involve closer integration between train and coach services.

National Express is also in the bidding. It owns Central Trains, which operate in Mid Wales, and is promising to revive rural lines.

Better rail links

The third contender is GB Railways, which currently has the Anglia franchise in England.

It is not yet certain whether the rail authority will combine the four Welsh franchises.

It says it will be looking at a number of possibilities before deciding whether the concept of a single operator is best.

Another group has put forward plans to develop links between Holyhead and Chester but would not include an all-Wales service.

Passengers have been demanding better rail links between south and north Wales and between Wales and the rest of the UK for many years.